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'A poison in our public': Texas Senate passes SB 3, THC ban backed by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick

The Texas Senate passed a bill Wednesday that would ban nearly all forms of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. Texas Senate Bill 3 is backed by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and seeks to tighten regulations around THC products sold in convenience stores and vape shops. Patrick first launched the bill in December, calling for the ban of all consumable tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) being sold. The bill passed 24-7. It still needs to be passed by the Texas House before Gov. Greg Abbott can sign it into law. Patrick attended a morning news conference along with law enforcement officers and advocates for families of those who exhibited behavioral health problems after consuming THC products. "This is a poison in our public, and we as a Legislature — our No. 1 responsibility is life and death issues," Patrick said. "We're going to ban your stores before we leave here, for good." The Lieutenant Governor also had a stern warning for THC retailers. "You might want to voluntarily close your doors, because the investigations are going to continue, and I'm sure the lawsuits are about to come," Patrick added. "You know what you're doing." The Texas House has yet to discuss its own hemp proposal. House Bill 28 would create stricter regulations for hemp, including "requiring a registration, imposing fees, creating criminal offenses and providing an administrative penalty." State Sen. Charles Perry (R-Lubbock), the lead author of SB 3, seemed hopeful that the Senate and House are "philosophically aligned." Patrick echoed this sentiment, saying he'd discussed the issue with House Speaker Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock) and Abbott. "We're all on the same page," Patrick said. "We're going to protect the people of Texas from THC." Will Texas ban THC products? What to know about Senate Bill 3, backed by GOP lawmakers Not all were in favor of Senate Bill 3, especially regarding its impact on businesses. While debating the bill, Sen. Sarah Eckhardt (D-Austin) suggested hemp should be more strongly regulated rather than outright banned. "I believe this bill goes too far, in that it would put out of business the consumable hemp industry in Texas," Eckhardt said. Mark Bordas, executive director of the Texas Hemp Business Council, took a similar stance and added lawmakers weren't appropriately acknowledging the difference between consumable hemp, with low concentrations of THC, and marijuana, with higher potencies. "We have a common enemy. We know who's doing wrong," Bordas said. "We'd both like to eliminate them, but the problem is, the lieutenant governor and Senator Perry are going to eliminate the entire business — including over 7,000 licensed dispensaries." "Bans don't work," Bordas continued. "All it's going to do is encourage the bad actors to fill the vacuum." Earlier this month, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller also spoke out against a ban. "I'm kind of torn between because we have never wanted recreational marijuana. And that's basically what this is," Miller said. "But now, you got 8,000 businesses, mostly mom and pops, that have put their life savings into opening these new businesses. And we might put them out of business." Marijuana laws in Texas are confusing. Here's a guide to know what is and isn't legal The Lone Star State has not broadly legalized cannabis in any form. While recreational marijuana remains illegal, medical marijuana is permissible in certain circumstances. In 2015, Texas passed the Compassionate-Use Act, which allowed the first legal use of low-THC cannabis products in the state for patients with intractable epilepsy. It was expanded in 2019 and 2021 to include other conditions. Chapter 169 of the Texas Occupations Code states that patients suffering from the following are allowed to use low-THC cannabis products: epilepsy seizure disorders multiple sclerosis spasticity amyotrophic lateral sclerosis autism cancer post-traumatic stress disorder an incurable neurodegenerative disease Marijuana remains illegal under the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA). It is listed as a Schedule I controlled substance, under strict regulations by the federal government, and has "no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse." — The Texas Tribune contributed to this report. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas THC ban one step closer to becoming law after Senate passes bill